The first speech for my communications class was called an “I Believe” speech. We are supposed to pick something in our life that we believe in and talk about it for two to three minutes. It doesn’t really matter what you pick, so long as you believe in it; what my class picked ranged from WWE to being vulnerable. A classic and beautifully performed example is about barbecue. What I chose fits the theme of this blog, so here it is.
I believe in a humble virtue. I believe that true greatness can’t be seen. The hidden life is the real life. I believe in slow decisions, and I believe in burning passion. I believe in Uncle Iroh, I believe in Jean Valjean, I believe in the Ents and the Hobbits, and I believe in old age.
You see, I believe that the thrill and rush of discovery extends not only to the stunning beauty of mountains and caves and music, but to the discovery of the tarnish of our world. The feeling that we are good is made true through the woes and evils of our times. When we find new ways that culture is broken, we rightly grieve, but secretly we are thankful that we no longer have to focus on our own faults. We have no time to think about getting fixed when there are others that need fixing.
But when we are old, we will have seen it all, we will have felt it all, and we will have been it all. The era of exciting and disheartening discovery will be over for us. At that end, I want to have loved Love. I want to have loved the simple, the strugglers, and the artists. I want those I know to pause…. I want to have encouraged peace. I want to have delighted in a chirping bird or a mischievous squirrel. I want to have embraced a friend in tears, and healed them. I want to call a stranger, “Brother.” I want to become beautiful myself, so that I might have a chance at making the world beautiful.
[Pause]
I believe in a humble virtue. I believe in a quiet life. I believe in slow prosperity. I believe in the eternal, in the lasting, and I believe in the old things.
Thank you.
Thoughts of a Novice 